


Love Is in the Stars

by busterkuri



Category: Metroid Series, Super Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Brothers
Genre: Alien Cultural Differences, Alien Culture, Alien Planet, Awkward Conversations, Drunkenness, F/F, Picnics, Smoking, Tea Parties, Trauma, mainly samus and rosalina
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-09
Updated: 2018-09-06
Packaged: 2019-05-04 11:45:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14592333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/busterkuri/pseuds/busterkuri
Summary: Samus gets invited to a tea party.  Can this awkward butch end up finding love with a princess?





	1. Tea in the Mushroom Kingdom

“...Tea?” Samus asked, raising an eyebrow under her armor.

“Yes, it's something I do with Zelda and Rosalina. It helps us relax and remember that we're still friends. I thought you'd like to come along.” Peach smiled sweetly.

“I, um, uh--”

“You don't have to. I understand if you don't enjoy tea.”

“No, it sounds wonderful!”

Peach smiled again. “Great! We'll see you tomorrow at 2!”

 

Oh great Chozo why did she agree to this. Samus flumped down on her bed and clicked off her power armor, releasing all the sweat and anxiety that was building up.

Fighting space aliens? Easy.

Going hand-to-hand against the best fighters of many worlds? No problem.

Having tea with three really pretty women?

Oh no no no no this was a bad idea, what was she thinking?

She took a deep breath. OK, just take it one step at a time. Her first problem was finding something to wear. She threw open her closet and started sorting through things. Everybody else would be wearing a dress, but she already knew she didn't have any of those.

Jumpsuits, tank tops, ripped up band T-shirts, jeans, sweatpants, why didn't she have one thing that didn't just scream “casual butch who doesn't know how to dress herself”?! As she reached the back of the closet she finally found something decent: a suit she had worn once to a Federation event that she was invited to. She quickly pulled up information on “how to clean a suit” and got to work.

As she worked on that, she also began pulling up other information on her wrist computer. [What is tea], [how to drink tea], [what's the best type of tea], [oh fuck fuck fuck why is this iron so hot] (stupid voice recognition), [there's tea snacks???], [what is a cucumber sandwich], [what is a cucumber]. Even lying in bed trying to get to sleep she had sudden questions to ask like [should I bring a gift].

 

“Oh, they're...lovely?” Peach said, taking the bizarre space flowers Samus offered.

“They're uh. Native to Tallon IV.” Samus said, quickly realizing that Peach probably didn't know where or what that was.

“Great! I'll put them in...a vase...with water?”

“...Yes.” Samus forced a polite smile. She wouldn't really be offended if Peach just threw them away instead.

“OK! You can sit down at the table, the others are already here.”

Samus went into the sitting area as the castle Toad that brought her here wandered off. She always felt so out of place in the Mushroom Kingdom. She wasn't really used to bright colors and happy creatures that weren't trying to kill her.

Zelda and Rosalina were already sitting and talking enthusiastically. Samus tried to pick up on the conversation and quickly realized it was way past her. Political affairs of their kingdoms, something about economies? It was basically gibberish to her.

Zelda gave a polite smile and greeting to Samus, while Rosalina gave a simple greeting. Peach and Zelda were always more open books, while Rosalina seemed to keep to herself more. Samus could relate.

Peach came from the kitchenette holding a tray with snacks, a teapot and cups with saucers, pouring the hot water into each cup. “I thought we'd try a nice Oolong today.” She passed out the tea cups. Samus almost took a sip of hers before remembering that it's supposed to steep first. She blushed a touch as she put the tea down, and then looked up, locking eyes with Rosalina. She'd clearly seen what just happened, which just made Samus blush more, and she was a tough bounty hunter in a suit **she wasn't supposed to be blushing!** She quickly grabbed a shortbread cookie and set herself to munching on that, keeping her eyes away from any of the other women.

“So can you believe Bowser tried to kidnap me in the middle of a fight?” Peach said, as everybody settled in. “He knows those rivalries are meant to be left out of this!”

“He's a man, they don't know how to listen to the rules.” Rosalina said. “You just have to fight back more often or else he thinks he can walk over you all the time.”

“I don't let him walk all over me! He kidnapped me easily once and now, no matter how much I fight back, he just gets more elaborate!”

“Yeah, but then you all invite him to play tennis and go go-karting with you. Speaking of...” Rosalina shifted her attention to Zelda. “OK, your boyfriend came, you're absolutely coming with us to the next set of races, right?”

Zelda laughed a little. “Sure, it seemed like he had a great time. He came back and suddenly he's signing so fast I have to slow him down and learn, like, 100 new words.” She began signing, saying the words with each one. “Car, shell, Bullet Bill, explosions, 'that blue shell was bullshit'...”

The three princesses laughed. Samus listened and took it all in as the conversation continued, but everybody was talking around her still. The group of friends who clearly didn't need another person around. She stared down at her tea, wondering how much longer it was supposed to steep for. Maybe she could just sneak out and return the cup later?

“So, how are things on...Zleebs?” Samus looked up all of a sudden, taking a second to recognize that Rosalina had asked a question. Everybody was looking at her curiously.

“Zebes? Oh, I don't...live there, I stay in Federation territory. I caught a bounty worth a lot the other day, this one smuggler, and you'd think they'd surrender just seeing my ship, but I guess they think it's slow, like I don't have a quadruple thruster drive and a twin missile setup. Like, you think you can outrun that in a beat-up X10Z?” She laughed a little, stopping as she noticed nobody else was laughing.

“That's, um...exciting.” Peach said, smiling a little. “Oh, I think the tea is ready to drink now!”

They all took a sip of the tea. Zelda was the first to speak. “This is marvelous. That lovely floral taste and then you get the hint of smokiness? That's sublime.”

Rosalina chimed in. “I think I've tasted better Oolongs, honestly. It's nice, to be sure, but it just doesn't feel as well-rounded as it should.” She took another sip. “Yes, I think the Sarasaland blend is much better.”

Samus took another sip as the others discussed tea. It just tasted like weird hot water to her. She looked around. No milk and honey? She thought there would be milk and honey. Then she could at least taste something.

“What do you think?” Rosalina asked. There was a moment of silence before Samus realized she was talking to her.

“Oh, it's—um, wow, I mean—it's so--” She looked down, unable to take the three pairs of eyes staring at her. “I've—you know, I've never tasted a tea like this before.” Clink-clink-clink-clink-clink-clink **what the hell was that?** She was ready to scream before realizing it was her, shaking the cup against its saucer. Her heart pounded in her chest. She felt like she was suffocating. “I'm going to wash up.”

“Oh, the washroom is--” Samus was out of the room before Peach could finish the sentence.

 

Samus thought of just running out of the castle, but at the moment she couldn't even look at a Toad to ask for directions. After some running around she managed to find a balcony. She leaned against the railing, taking deep breaths, shaking her hands back and forth to try and stim out the anxiety. It took her a minute to calm down. As the anxiety started to subside, she pulled out the pack of cigarettes she stuffed in her chest pocket and took one out, starting to smoke.

Finally, she felt a little better. She stared out across the fields around Peach's Castle. Some Toads were doing greenkeeping work, while others played soccer. She really didn't understand how Peach could surround herself with creatures with such shrill voices.

“You got another one of those?” For the third time today, Rosalina's voice startled her. Fortunately, this was a social situation where Samus knew what to do. She offered the pack over, flipping it just right so one cigarette jostled up a little. Rosalina took it as Samus pulled out her lighter, lighting it for her.

“Thanks” Rosalina said, taking a drag. “Don't tell Peach.” She said slyly. “She's so pure, she's saving herself for marriage.”

Samus laughed a little. “I just don't understand how.”

Rosalina laughed. “God, Mario's nice and all, but you know he's just as inexperienced. Nobody who wears a cape regularly has lost his virginity.”

Samus laughed more. Wow. She was actually feeling comfortable.

“...Sorry.” Rosalina said, leaning on the balcony next to Samus.

“For what?”

“I was the one who told Peach to invite you. I thought it'd be nice.”

“Why?” Rosalina raised an eyebrow before Samus rethought her question. “I mean, why did you want to invite me?”

Rosalina shrugged. “You seem lonely. Everybody else is always talking to people after the matches. You just call your ship and fly away.”

“That's just...how it's always been for me.” Samus sighed. “I get a drink out occasionally, but mostly I'm just...by myself.”

“Do you want to be?”

Samus shook her head. “I wouldn't have come if I wanted to be alone all the time. I...I'm not great with...all of this.” She gestured towards the castle. “Fanciness and a lot of people around. I prefer...you know, if I'm one-on-one with someone, if I can really get to know them personally, where I'm comfortable.”

“So...you want to give it another try?”

“What do you mean?”

“I dunno. Give it a couple days, then it can just be you and me, place of your choice, and we can just...get to know each other.”

Samus chuckled a little. “You make it sound like a date.” She paused, and then looked at Rosalina. Oh, there was no mistaking that look. “This...this is a date.”

“Meet up on Friday?”

Samus nodded in response, blushing heavily. “Uh—I—y-yeah, I'll send you the place by email—or letter—or whatever you use!”

Rosalina smiled. “Sounds great.” She laughed a little. “You are the shyest butch I've ever seen.” She patted her shoulder. “Come on, your tea's getting cold and I'm sure Peach has plenty to say about the population of green Toads or whatever.”

Samus nodded again, still a little lost in thought. She was going on a date. With a princess.

Oh Great Chozo, she was going to need another outfit.

 


	2. Alien Cuisine on the Federation Homeworld

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Samus and Rosalina go on their first date. Samus learned to drink tea, can Rosalina learn to eat...whatever aliens eat?

“So, this is uh, your home planet?” Rosalina asked, looking around at the busy, futuristic streets. A sky-tram passed overhead. Signs constantly switched between several languages, all of them unfamiliar to her. There were humans around, but aliens also passed, strange creatures she'd never seen before.

She oversaw a galaxy and she'd never seen anything like this.

“Well, it's as much a home as any place I've lived. What do you think of it?” Samus asked.

“It's...uh, wow.” Very rarely was Rosalina at a loss for words. She shook her head a little, trying to get back her cool. “It's pretty impressive.”

Samus smiled. On her home turf, she could relax.

 

After the tea party, they'd been writing to each other almost nonstop for a week. Rosalina did prefer hand-written letters, marked with perfume and lipstick to make them feel special, but Samus convinced her to switch to computer messaging for the sake of speed (and the fact that Samus couldn't find many places actually selling pen and paper).

Samus was much more comfortable with the written word, although more than once Rosalina still managed to get something in that would make her blush and have to put the app away for a while before responding. It took a while in-between the general conversation and constant flirting to get to a point where they actually figured out a date.

 

Samus insisted that Rosalina show up in something casual, which still turned out to be a beautiful, flowing dress, compared to Samus' T-shirt and jeans. Of course, Rosalina being the only one in the quadrant to wear a dress like that was attracting a lot of looks. Samus looked at her to make sure she wasn't uncomfortable, but she seemed to enjoy the attention.

“So, where is this place we're going?” Rosalina asked.

“It's uh. Just up here.” Samus blushed a little. “I promise you, this really isn't going to be as fancy as you're expecting.”

Rosalina shrugged and smiled. “Whatever it is, if you picked it out, I'm sure it will be good.”

Samus smiled a little and led them on to a small, out-of-the-way restaurant. Rosalina looked around as they entered. The server was an alien with four main arms and two tiny, secondary arms in-between, currently holding a small digital notepad. The only table had a few other aliens of the same species. They didn't look like shady types, simply the type who came here to stay away from the crowds. They talked to themselves over strange bowls of food, laughing from time to time.

Samus waved at them, getting waves back, and sat her and Rosalina down at a table a bit away from them.

“Friends of yours?” Rosalina asked.

Samus laughed a little. “I wouldn't call them friends. Some guy was roughing them up once, I helped them out and they brought me here.”

Rosalina smiled. “You're so noble.”

Samus blushed as a server came and gave them some small devices. Rosalina looked at it. It was a tablet with the menu on it.

“Just tap what you want.” Samus said.

“Uh...” Rosalina stared at the strange language.

“Oh, duh, hold on.” Samus tapped a button, switching the menu over to pictures of the items.

“Thank you.” Rosalina said, smiling. She kept the smile up as she looked at the foods to hide her disgust and confusion. None of this looked familiar. She glanced up at Samus, who had apparently already chosen her meal. “Is...anything here...vegetarian?” She wasn't a vegetarian, but she'd watched enough sci-fi shows to know that she was probably safer choosing something that didn't have a meat in it.

“Oh, yeah, those two are.” Samus gestured to the bottom two, and Rosalina chose the one that looked kind of like a stir fry, if a stir fry also included a small tree in the center of it.

After selecting that, a secondary menu came up with drinks. Rosalina sighed in relief. Beer she could identify on any planet.

The menu changed to a smiley face and what she assumed said “Thank you!”

She pushed the menu off to the side in relief. If she knew they were going to go to someplace so alien, she would've done research first.

She looked at Samus. They both smiled at each other in silence for a moment.

“So...” Samus prompted. “This is nice...”

“It is.” Rosalina said.

“R-really? You're having fun?” Her eyes widened.

Rosalina smiled and shrugged. “Well, it's a strange place with strange-looking food, but I'm excited to try it since you like it so much.”

Samus breathed a huge sigh of relief. “I thought you were hating this.”

Rosalina laughed. “I mean, after how things went for you last time, I'd say it's fair revenge.”

“I-I really didn't plan this as 'revenge'.”

“Hey, I'm not being serious. It's fun.”

The beers came, the same brand. No glasses, just the bottles. Rosalina took a sip. The taste was different, but still recognizably beer.

“It's funny,” Rosalina said. “You don't seem like the kind of person who relaxes a lot.”

“I mean...I don't, not really.”

“So, is this special, then?”

Samus paused a moment. “Well...I'm as relaxed as I can be right now.”

“Drinking a beer at a restaurant on a date...how much more relaxed can you get?”

Samus looked down. “I just...can't ever stop being on edge...”

The food came at that moment, much to Samus' relief.

Rosalina looked at Samus' soup with a tentacle conspicuously hanging out of it, and then at her stir-fry dish. Well, at least it looked normal. She took a bite of a carrot, just to test it and get a taste of the sauce..

Oh, God, what was this.

Samus looked up at Rosalina's disgusted expression. “Oh...oh, you've...right, um...” She quickly grabbed her knife. “I should've explained.”  
Rosalina quickly spit the “carrot” out in her napkin. “What the hell is this?!”

“No, I promise, you'll enjoy it, you've just got to...” She stabbed the tree in the center of the plate. A liquid started pouring out, mixing with the sauce and causing steam to come off of the vegetables.

Rosalina just stared at it. “Um...is it...safe to eat now?”

“Yeah. I should've mentioned, a Kandar root fry is traditionally served this way. It used to be a royal dish. Explqrian royals liked their meals to also be a show. Then they branched out and found Kandar on other planets, so they could easily make it, and...I'm talking way too much about this.”

Rosalina smiled. “No, it's fine.” She picked up one of the “carrots”. “So...what is this?”

“Um...red hangar.”

She ate it. It was a completely different experience. “Oh, that's divine. It's still a little bitter, but it mixes with the other flavors. It tastes like...ginger and cardamom?”

Samus laughed. “I can guarantee there's no ginger in that.”

“Well, whatever the equivalent is...OK, if this is so good, I've got to try one of your tentacles.”

Samus put a small bit on Rosalina's plate. “Watch out, it's an acquired taste.”

She took a bite of it and gingerly swallowed it. “OK, yeah, I'll stick with my...Kandar root for now.”

  
  


After dinner, they walked down the street, laughing together. As weird as this place was, Rosalina was getting used to it. “I gotta say, your home is weird but nice.”

Samus laughed. “I keep telling you, it's not my home.”

“Well, what would you call it, then?”

She thought for a moment. “The place I live.”

“So...your home.”

Samus sighed and shook her head. “Home is...my ship and my power armor...I don't get tied down to a place like this.” She looked at Rosalina. “I mean, you don't live in the Mushroom Kingdom, right?”

“Well, no, but I live on my space station with the Lumas. I still have a concrete place. I don't think a suit of armor technically qualifies as a home.”

Samus quietly said, “Well, it is.” She looked down, clearly upset.

Rosalina knew when to back off for a moment.

They walked in silence. After a minute, Samus grabbed Rosalina's hand and squeezed it lightly. “Sorry...”

Rosalina blushed a little. “Hey, it was my fault.”

“Yeah, but you—I mean--”

“So what does that say?” She said, pointing to a completely random sign.

Samus translated it and started expounding on the meaning (and why the language could never truly be translated into English), and the awkward moment passed, even as it still stuck in Rosalina's head.

 

They got to Samus' apartment complex way faster than either of them were expecting. They stood there, talking for another minute, before the question had to come up.

“So...” Rosalina said, running her fingers on Samus' hand and staring into her eyes.

Samus awkwardly laughed and blushed. She was bad at picking up on non-verbal signals, but she could get this one pretty easily. “I mean, my place is a mess, you have no idea.”

“I don't mind.”

“No, it's like--”

“You can just...say no. I won't be offended.”

But Samus really did want to say yes. It had been forever and she liked Rosalina and just the delicate touch of their hands together was already making her heart warm up and give her butterflies.

And that honestly scared her.

She smiled. “This was really great, but...another night for...that.”

“I understand.” Rosalina kissed her on the cheek. “Just think about that until next time.”

And as Rosalina left, it was all Samus could think about.

 


	3. Picnic in the Temple

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While reeling from bad dreams, Samus and Rosalina go on a picnic.

Samus woke up with a start. She grabbed the pistol she kept near her bed and aimed around, trying to view through the darkness of her apartment. After a moment, she realized the sound she heard was her alarm.

Shit. She sighed, turning it off and putting her pistol back in its place.

Time and healing meant the nightmares came less often, but she could still expect about one a month. It had become routine, but that didn't mean that it became more comfortable. She popped her estradiol under her tongue and started browsing through her messaging system, popping it up so it displayed through the apartment's holographic systems.

This was the good part of the new routine. Getting to see the messages Rosalina had sent her, remembering what they talked about last night and seeing what new pictures there had been overnight. It was good entertainment while working out, far better than watching the news or the 5 AM informercials.

After that, she ate breakfast, her standard of cereal and two pieces of toast. She munched down while looking at various videos online.

Before too long, she could forget she had ever had the nightmare.

 

Rosalina woke up to the concerned sound of one of her Lumas. It was hard to see. She wiped her eyes. Tears.

“Don't worry, I'm fine,” she said with a reassuring smile. The Luma smiled and flew away, knowing that Rosalina preferred her privacy when she woke up.

Rosalina's smile faded once the Luma left. The dreams were always hard for her. Some part of her thought that, being alive for so long, her bad memories would eventually vanish. But they didn't. They were still there, in her mind, still a part of her that seemed to exist just to hurt her.

She browsed through her phone and her smile returned as she saw Samus' messages. Along with the standard good mornings, Samus loved to send random videos and pictures. She still wasn't sure how Samus could wake up so early, but it was nice to be able to wake up to these messages.

She got up, dressed in one of her finest dresses, and cooked breakfast. She wasn't entirely sure if she still needed to eat, but a lot of human routines made her feel good, connected to the rest of the world.

She wiped away a tear. Why couldn't she just get rid of that human part of her?

 

Samus wiped away her sweat after the fight. She lost today. It was all for fun, anyways, but she'd end up thinking about it the rest of the day, shaping different strategies in her head for next time.

“You ready?” Rosalina came up, holding a picnic basket.

Samus laughed a little. “As long as you're OK with me eating like this.” She gestured to her basic undersuit.

Rosalina shrugged. “Why not?”

They had gone on several dates now. Rosalina thought it would be nice to have a picnic after one of the matches, in one of the arenas. Samus wasn't really a huge fan of picnics, but it did sound like a nice idea, and the arenas got pretty empty and quiet after the fights.

Rosalina chose the Temple. They got to the area underneath, chosen for the nice equal amount of shade and sun. Samus got herself into the area with the most shade, happy to relax and cool off as Rosalina unpacked the basket. She set down the blanket and put out cheese, bread, grapes, and wine.

“That was a good fight today,” Rosalina said as she poured herself some wine.

Samus laughed. “I lost.”

Rosalina smiled. “Well, you still fought well. That's what matters, right?”

She sighed. “I guess. I'd like to win every time.”

“But you can't.”

Samus smirked. “Thanks. I know.”

Rosalina was silent for a moment as she sipped at her wine. “...Also, check Marth's fingers, he always tightens his grip a little whenever he's about to parry.”

Samus closed her eyes, thinking about it. “...You're right.” She laughed. “That is...much more helpful.”

They chatted for a while, idly eating food and sipping wine.

“It's really quiet here, isn't it?” Rosalina said, tracing the rim of her glass with her finger.

“Yeah, I mean, there's nobody around.” Samus replied. Where did this come from all of a sudden?

“It's also...really hot over here.”

“You can come over into the shade.”

Rosalina did so, cuddling up into Samus and wrapping an arm around her. “You feel so good.”

“S-so do you.” Samus blushed, her heart beating faster. They had done some cuddling, but this felt like a lot more than that.

“You can...feel me a lot closer...if you want...” Rosalina said, moving her shoulder so her dress slipped off of it.

Samus blushed harder. “U-um...this is...forward...”

She did some quick math. Samus was still on her first glass of wine, and it hadn't been a full glass. Rosalina was...she glanced at the bottle, and it was empty.

Ah.

“You're drunk.”

Rosalina laughed. “I'm a little tipsy. Does it matter?” She moved her hand down Samus' side, to her waist.

Samus took Rosalina's hand and moved it off of her. “Yeah, it does.”

“Aw, what's wrong? I'd consent sober, if that's what you're worried about.”

“This is just really forward.”

“So?”

“So you didn't want to maybe ask me if I wanted to do this before you made your choice?”

“Pfft, you're taking forever to make a move. I thought I'd just speed things up.”

“I've been happy where we are! Aren't you?”

Rosalina paused. “I—yeah, I am. I just...I _really_ want to get laid.”

“So do I, when I'm ready for it!”

“You're so whiny.”

“You're drunk.” The slight amusement from the first time was gone. “You're really drunk.”

Rosalina was quiet for a moment.

Samus sighed. “You go sober up, we'll...talk tomorrow.”

“I just don't want to lose you,” she whispered.

“I don't want to lose you either.”

“You don't know what it's like to lose somebody.”

Silence. Rosalina looked up to see Samus clearly holding back rage.

“Samus?”

“Never say that to me again.” Samus got up and left.

 

Rosalina woke up the next morning, prodded by a Luma. She looked around. This wasn't her bedroom.

She'd fallen asleep in the library. There was an empty bottle of gin at her feet. Her storybook was next to her, face-down on the floor.

She held her head and got some water as the memories of yesterday came back to her.

What the fuck did she do?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the kudos, comments, and bookmarks. It means a lot to me.
> 
> I just got out of a bad relationship, and as a result, this chapter came out a bit darker. Don't worry, Samus and Rosalina won't break up.
> 
> Thank you for continuing to read, chapter 4 will be up soon.


	4. Texting and Apologizing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Rosalina's mistake, she and Samus try to reconcile their problems.

Rosalina: Hey.

Samus: hey

Rosalina: What are you doing?

Samus: eating

\--Samus sent a picture--

Rosalina: What is that?

Samus: they dont name their food

Samus: its a religious thing

Rosalina: Interesting.

Samus: yeah

Rosalina: I need to apologize.

Rosalina: What I did yesterday wasn't appropriate at all. I hide my emotions as much as I can, and something actually hit me yesterday. That doesn't actually justify what I did, though.

Rosalina: I hurt you and you don't deserve that.

Rosalina: I don't know where we stand now but I at least wanted to say that.

Rosalina: I hope we can at least stay friends.

Samus: I dont want to go down to just friends

Samus: I still have feelings for you

Samus: Yesterday sucked

Samus: But it's not the end of the world

Samus: If thats a one-time thing that youre going to learn from

Samus: I think that's important

Rosalina: Can I talk to you in person?

Samus: of course

 

They figured out where to meet. Rosalina's fingers shook a little as she typed. It was a nice conversation, but...she couldn't shake the edge of it. She knew how she thought this should turn out: that Samus would yell at her, wouldn't be able to forgive her, and that would be the end.

That this wasn't the end was making her more nervous. What if she was just waiting for the right moment to strike? What if she'd see Rosalina and the anger would bubble back up? What if--

Her train of thought got cut off as a Luma tugged on her sleeve.

“What is it?”

The Luma looked worried.

“Oh, no, I'm fine! Don't worry, everything's OK.” She smiled and the Luma perked back up and flew off.

She didn't believe herself, but even saying it as a lie...it helped a little.

 

They settled on meeting at a bench in a quiet little park in the Mushroom Kingdom. Samus got there first, sitting there and anxiously fidgeting with her phone. She just wanted everything to turn out OK, because right now, even through text, she could feel the wall between them. They were both holding back, unsure what was going to happen next.

Rosalina showed up a couple minutes later. They greeted each other, smiled politely, but...they weren't shaking hands or anything. Just sitting there. Samus continued to fidget, clasping and unclasping the buttons on her jeans.

“...I'm sorry.” Rosalina sighed. “I...get like that sometimes and...I should've said something, pushed our date back a bit, something. I didn't and that's...my fault.”

“I forgive you.”

She laughed a little. “I know you do, but...I don't know if you should.”

Samus put a hand on Rosalina's cheek and gently led her to make eye contact with her. “I should. I know I should because I know you and I know you're a sweet person and you should be allowed to make mistakes. Trust me and allow this forgiveness.”

Samus' heart beat. This was a little crazy, especially for her, and if this didn't work it was going to be bad. Rosalina turned away from her and she heard a sniffle of tears and it would've hurt her if, at the same moment, she didn't grab Samus' hand and squeeze it and nothing had to be said. She knew things were going to be OK.

They sat there in silence for a moment before Rosalina spoke up. “My mother died when I was a child. That was...a long time ago. But I still sometimes have dreams about her.” She laughed quietly. “I don't even really think they're about _her_ at this point. That woman is so far gone in my memories that I only have the vaguest recollection, but...they still feel like they're about her. They still hurt.” She sighed. “I'd just...rather not have the emotion at all.”

Samus nodded, taking the story in. She thought for a minute, weighing in her mind whether or not to open up as well. For years she hadn't. People knew she had a grudge against Ridley and that was it. She'd thought of seeing a therapist several times, but kept finding herself deciding against it, deciding it would be better if she didn't confront it. That was how the Chozo dealt with things, avoiding the problem.

But...she wasn't a Chozo. No matter her attachment to them, she was a human, and she needed to discuss it.

“My parents died, too. When I was just a kid. It...they...” She stopped for a moment, taking a deep breath. “I don't know...what it was like for you...for me it was...the image is forever ingrained in my brain. Their bodies...” Another deep breath. “It's...sorry.” She stopped, quickly wiping tears away. “This...isn't working.”

“It's OK...I didn't expect you to share. You don't need to say anything.” Rosalina paused, playing with her hair. “I think...just knowing that part actually makes me happy. That you know what it's like. That you're so much younger than me and can deal with it...you're so cool, you know?”

Samus laughed in surprise. “You live on a space station with a bunch of star aliens and you're like several thousand years old and you think I'm cool? That's a pretty high compliment.”

Rosalina smiled a little. “Well, only one of us is a bounty hunter.” She looked at Samus for a moment, thinking. “So...you still...want to be with me?”

“Yeah, of course.” Samus shrugged. “It's...a hiccup, yeah, but...I still really like you. If you were drinking a lot and stuff I'd be worried, but--”

“I swear I'm not going to. Trust me, hangovers don't get better with millennia.”

Samus laughed. “Then, we're good.”

They cuddled together and, for the first time since yesterday, actually relaxed.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the wait! This was a tough chapter to write, but I think it was worth it! Thank you all for continuing to read, hopefully chapter 5 will come sooner


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